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Category Archives: ethanol
Greens determined to have us riding pushbikes and using paraffin lamps
Back to Bolted-Down Industries
by Viv Forbes, Science Writer
Once upon a time Australia was attractive to processing, refining and manufacturing industries using our abundant mineral and food resources, our reliable low-cost coal-fired electricity and a workforce trained in technical skills.
No longer.
Our last oil refinery has closed, leaving just 3 weeks supply of refined motor fuel in the country and for the first time in at least 60 years Australia no longer produces motor vehicles. China and India have about 430 coal power plants under construction but Australia has not built a single coal-fired power station for seven years – some politicians even rejoice when they manage to close and demolish one. Brisbane’s new trains are being made in India, Victa mowers are made in China and most coastal shipping died decades ago. Steel works and refineries producing aluminium, copper and zinc are under stress. All these industries are being pushed overseas by costly unreliable electricity and other government barriers and burdens.
Australia has only three weeks supply of refined fuel available at any time. The ALP, Greens and Liberals have supported closing down of our onshore refineries preferring to import fuel. Australia runs on diesel. The stupid Greens will continue to enforce the collapse of the fossil fuel industry until every citizen is riding a push bike.
Red-green policies being pushed by all major parties are making Australia more dependent on bolted-down industries such as mining and farming that can’t be sent overseas because their basic resources are here. And green opposition to nuclear power increases Aussie reliance on coal.
A century ago Australians relied on wool, wheat, gold, silver, copper, lead-zinc, butter, beef and timber – all products of bolted-down industries.
Red-green policies are pushing us back to those days. Politicians need to remember Newton’s Law of Bureaucracy – whenever the government tries to use the force of law to achieve economic goals the long term results will be equal and opposite to those intended.
So in the long run, red-green energy and environmental policies will make us more dependent on the industries they now attack – mining, farming, forestry and fishing.
Further Reading:
Construction of new coal-fired power plants is increasing in at least 35 countries:
https://climatism.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/world-building-new-coal-plants-faster-than-it-shuts-them/
Asia is returning to Coal:
https://thediplomat.com/2017/02/why-is-asia-returning-to-coal/
Greens Disappointed by Economic Growth:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/11/14/co2-emissions-surge-greens-disappointed-by-economic-growth/
A diesel in the shed
You can have your solar panels
and your turbines on the hills;
You can use the warmth of sunshine
to reduce your heating bills.
You can dream you’re self-sufficient
as you weed your vegie bed;
As long as you make sure to keep
A diesel in the shed.
by Viv Forbes, Science Writer
When I was a kid on a dairy farm in Queensland, we relied on green energy – horses and human muscles provided motive power; fire-wood and beeswax candles supplied heat and light; windmills pumped water and the sun provided solar energy for growing crops, vegies and pastures. The only “non-green” energy used was a bit of kerosene for the kitchen lamp, and petrol for a small Ford utility.
Our life changed dramatically when we put a diesel in the dairy shed. This single-cylinder engine drove the milking machines, the cream separator and an electricity generator, which charged 16 lead-acid 2 volt batteries sitting on the veranda. This 32 volt DC system powered a modern marvel – bright light, at any time, in every room, at the touch of a switch.
As the looney Greens and Labor demolish clean coal-fired power stations, soon the only reliable source of electricity will be your own generator
There were no electric self-starters for diesels in those days – just a heavy crank handle. But all that effort, noise and fumes were superseded when every house and dairy got connected to clean silent “coal power by wire”. Suddenly the trusty “Southern Cross” diesel engines disappeared from Australian sheds and dairies.
In just one life-time, candles and kerosene were replaced by diesel, which was then replaced by clean silent ever-ready electricity.
Today, after Aussies have enjoyed decades of abundant reliable cheap electricity from coal, green energy gambling has taken Australia back to the era which kept a diesel in the shed.
Tasmania is the greenest state in Australia. It once had a vibrant economy that created mines, saw-mills, farms, orchards, oil and metal refineries, dams, hydro-power and railways. It is now a green no-go land. Greens have stopped new hydro developments, opposed mining, crippled the timber industry, prevented new wood-chip developments and will probably celebrate when their last refinery closes.
Tasmanians get their electricity mainly from hydro assets created long ago by their more productive ancestors. But recently a long drought caused a shortage of Tasmanian hydro-energy – they became reliant for up to 40% of their electricity needs on the Bass-link undersea cable bringing electricity from reliable coal-fired stations in Victoria and NSW. However the overloaded Bass Link cable failed, and an old gas-powered station was brought back into service (importing gas from Victoria) to keep the lights on. Subsequently their politicians hurriedly put 150 diesel generators in their shed (costing A$11 million per month).
South Australia is the next greenest state in Australia, hosting about 35% of Australia’s wind turbines. These were force-fed into existence by mandatory green energy targets and tax benefits. In a burst of green destruction they also closed their gas-fired power stations and demolished their coal-fired station. However wind power failed recently and a storm tore down their life-line bringing reliable coal power from Victoria. Now Premier Weatherill is planning to install up to 200 megawatts of diesel generators in his shed. Many residents are following his lead.
As some wag said: Question: “What did South Australians have before candles?” Answer: “Electricity”.
The UK has been badly infected by the green energy virus. Engineers warned that this intermittent and unpredictable supply had increased the risk of blackouts, so the UK government offered subsidies for emergency backup power. This subsidy, plus consumer concerns, put so many diesels in British sheds that they now provide a major backup capacity for UK electricity.
Many Spaniards found a diesel in the shed was very profitable. Their government had been drinking green-ale and offered attractive subsidies for solar power produced. The subsidy was very successful – so successful that someone eventually noticed that some suppliers were even producing “solar” power at night. It was coming from diesels in their sheds.
Finally, our green media likes to feature some green energy enthusiast who is “off the grid”. But it usually emerges later in the show that there is a diesel in their shed too.
Those who remember the days of relying on a noisy smelly diesel in the shed have no wish to be dragged back there by green zealots.
Liberals and Labor make us entirely dependent on imported fuel: locally produced ethanol is coming
Katter and Lazarus seek Federal renewable fuels mandate
8 February 2016: KAP Leader and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter today introduced the Renewable Fuel Bill 2016 into Federal Parliament which will see ethanol flow from every petrol bowser in Australia at a minimum of 5% from 2019 and 10% from 2022.
Mr Katter was supported by fellow Queenslander and Leader of the Glenn Lazarus Team, Senator Glenn Lazarus.
The introduction of the Bill into Federal Parliament follows a win by the KAP in Queensland late last year which will see a 4% ethanol mandate in Queensland from 2018.
Mr Katter paid tribute to the proponents of ethanol in his speech in Parliament today and cited the four fundamental reasons that ethanol should go ahead: health, agriculture, fuel security and petrol prices.
“I think the opening statement should lie with Mr Iemma, the then Premier of New South Wales – he said, ‘I cannot go another day with people’s deaths on my conscience, people that simply don’t have to die’,” Mr Katter said.
“The most distinguished medical journal in the world has released figures – if you double the amount of small particles (in the air with ordinary fuel) then you double the number of deaths from lung disease and pulmonary diseases for the heart and lungs.”
Senator Glen Lazurus and Bob Katter introduced a bill to mandate ethanol in Australia
Mr Katter said that ethanol was critical for survival of the sugar and grains industries.
“The lot-feeding industry in Queensland is raging with horror at the thought of ethanol being introduced because it raises the price of grain.
“There are about 10 lot feeders in Australia—they do about 90 per cent of the lot feeding—and almost all of them are foreign owned corporations.
“So should we be looking after the 15,000 grain growers in Australia or the nine foreign corporations that are doing the lot feeding in Australia?
“In sugar we have been closing a sugar mill every two years and our industry is slowly grinding out of existence.
“And why – because we can’t compete. The value of our currency plus the massive direct subsidies in America and Europe make it impossible to compete.
“The Brazilians have been getting $420 per tonne for their sugar, yet we get $340 per tonne – the vast bulk of the Brazilian cane goes to the ethanol stream, while ours goes to the sugar stream,” Mr Katter said.
Mr Katter also pointed to Australia’s desperately low fuel security.
“Ten years ago we were almost entirely self-sufficient in fuel, now we have almost no domestic source of supply at all.
“We are the only country on earth that has no plan in case of an emergency or defence contingency.
“The NRMA has said that the fuel supply chain in Australia will shorten down to two weeks over the next two years.”
“If ISIS happens to blow up two or three fuel ships coming into Australia, this economy will be crippled as we are the only economy on earth totally dependent on imported fuel.”
Mr Katter said finally that the price of petrol under ethanol made it a no-brainer.
“The world price for petrol is AUD$.65c per litre yet the average price in Australia is AUD$1.15 per litre.
“Every county on earth with the exception of Australia, Africa and the Middle Eastern oil producing companies are relying on ethanol.
“But sending $25,000 million a year to the Middle East to buy oil, instead of sending it into rural Australia, is brainless stupidity.
“And what a ‘no brainer’ it is – to send $25,000 million into regional Australia where we are reeling in pain, or to the middle East,” Mr Katter said.
Cairns News 